From the hypochondriacal James II to Martin I, the Aragonese-Sicilian monarchy in the 14th and 15th century was characterized by privileged and exclusive relationships between kings and their doctors. Protagonists in this scenario were primarily famous doctors of North and Central Italy, wise and experienced professors who were induced to move to the island, and who benefited from the scarce quantity and poor quality of local physicians. Sicilian doctors, for their part, were interested in entering the ganglia of court life and proved adept at selecting winning strategies to protect and improve positions of prestige, public visibility and privilege. In exchange for available finances, essential during periods of low liquidity, they were protected by often fragile kings, who, in order to govern, required a network of trusted men not only to take care of their health, but also able to understand complex mechanisms peculiar to the island. The rules of the game changed in 1398 with the institution, at the hands of Martin, the eldest son of Aragon, of the protomedicato, a judicial body whose job was to enforce the laws related to the practice of medicine and related activities, and which proved to be an important stepping stone for the careers of doctors in the King’s service: in contrast with previous decades, his monarchy was determined to exercise total control over Sicilian society, and was thus well-aware of the importance of methods of selecting and recruiting members of the medical profession.

Dall'ipocondriaco Giacomo II a Martino I, tra XIV e XV secolo la casa aragonese-siciliana si caratterizza per un legame privilegiato ed esclusivo tra medico e sovrano. Uno scenario composto in prevalenza da medici famosi dell'Italia centro-settentrionale, professori di esperienza e saggezza che sono attirati a trasferirsi nell'isola, vista la scarsità quantitativa e qualitativa dei medici locali. Interessati a inserirsi nei gangli della vita di corte, i siciliani si mostrano abili a individuare le strategie migliori per tutelare e accrescere incarichi di prestigio, visibilità, privilegi: garantiti - in cambio di una disponibilità di capitali, fondamentale in periodi di scarsa liquidità - da re spesso fragili che, per governare, hanno bisogno di una rete di uomini fidati che oltre ad occuparsi della loro salute, sappiano capire i complessi meccanismi isolani. I giochi cambiavano con l’istituzione nel 1398, ad opera di Martino primogenito d’Aragona, del protomedicato, magistratura deputata a fare rispettare le norme relative all’esercizio della medicina e delle attività correlate, che si sarebbe rivelata un formidabile trampolino per le carriere dei medici al servizio dei re: a differenza però dei decenni precedenti, si trattava di una monarchia intenzionata ad esercitare un controllo totale sulla società isolana, consapevole dell’importanza dei processi di selezione e reclutamento della classe medica.

Santoro, D. (2013). Medici del re nella Sicilia aragonese. In E. Andretta, M. Nicoud (a cura di), Etre médecin à la cour (Italie, France et Espagne, XIII-XVIII siècles) (pp. 87-104). Firenze : Sismel-Edizioni del Galluzzo.

Medici del re nella Sicilia aragonese

SANTORO, Daniela
2013-01-01

Abstract

From the hypochondriacal James II to Martin I, the Aragonese-Sicilian monarchy in the 14th and 15th century was characterized by privileged and exclusive relationships between kings and their doctors. Protagonists in this scenario were primarily famous doctors of North and Central Italy, wise and experienced professors who were induced to move to the island, and who benefited from the scarce quantity and poor quality of local physicians. Sicilian doctors, for their part, were interested in entering the ganglia of court life and proved adept at selecting winning strategies to protect and improve positions of prestige, public visibility and privilege. In exchange for available finances, essential during periods of low liquidity, they were protected by often fragile kings, who, in order to govern, required a network of trusted men not only to take care of their health, but also able to understand complex mechanisms peculiar to the island. The rules of the game changed in 1398 with the institution, at the hands of Martin, the eldest son of Aragon, of the protomedicato, a judicial body whose job was to enforce the laws related to the practice of medicine and related activities, and which proved to be an important stepping stone for the careers of doctors in the King’s service: in contrast with previous decades, his monarchy was determined to exercise total control over Sicilian society, and was thus well-aware of the importance of methods of selecting and recruiting members of the medical profession.
2013
Santoro, D. (2013). Medici del re nella Sicilia aragonese. In E. Andretta, M. Nicoud (a cura di), Etre médecin à la cour (Italie, France et Espagne, XIII-XVIII siècles) (pp. 87-104). Firenze : Sismel-Edizioni del Galluzzo.
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/10447/71863
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